The Alienist by Caleb Carr Book Review

Have you ever wondered why people make the choices they do? Human behavior can be complex, and confusing to an untrained eye. Trained psychologists can sometimes identify clues to explain and even predict a person’s behavior. Years of research has been conducted develop theories on recognizing these clues. The Alienist, written by Caleb Carr, transports the reader back to 1896 when little research has occurred. Carr draws on many of his own experiences to create a historical fiction, which explores human behavior, and conveys messages about equality and seeing other’s perspectives. 

Simply put, The Alienist is the journey of bringing a serial killer to justice. It is set in New York in 1896. In the beginning of the book, narrator John Moore is summoned to a crime scene in the middle of the night. The scene is horribly bloody with the body of a young male prostitute brutally cut apart. This marks the beginning of a secret quest for justice—as the police are unwilling to fully investigate the murder. The police commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt, wants to bring the killer to justice, so he assembles a team to investigate under the radar. This team consists of Dr. Lazlo Kreizler, John Moore, Sara Howard and the Isaacson detectives. These five use their specific skills to investigate the murder. 

The leading protagonist, Dr. Kreizler is a psychologist, or “alienist” who has been studying the minds of criminals for years. He uses his knowledge of the criminal mind, to build a profile of the suspect. John Moore is a reporter and uses his connections throughout the city to investigate any leads found at the crime scenes. The investigation quickly becomes dangerous and the team realizes that someone doesn’t want them to complete it. However, they continue to investigate, until they eventually find the name of a man who fits their profile. Moore and Kreizler visit the man’s brother and confirm that he is who they are looking for. Upon arriving back in town, they find that Kreizler’s girlfriend has been murdered. In grief Kreizler steps back from the case and Moore takes over. The team quickly tracks down the killer’s apartment, only to find it abandoned. However, the killer left his gruesome trophies behind, further confirming that the team has the correct man. 

Kreizler then secretly figures out the location of the next murder and tricks Moore to accompany him. They confront the killer and gain control of the situation, but are interrupted by dirty police officers who don’t want the murder solved. Shots are fired and the killer and one of the corrupt officers are killed. Kreizler performs an autopsy on the killer hoping to find something abnormal that could explain his behavior. He finds nothing and the team disbands returning to their normal jobs. The book ends with New York having one less killer on the street. 

Even though the story is fiction, it displays real issues that face society. Some believe that Caleb Carr wrote The Alienist because of his childhood. Carr was raised in an abusive home (Foley). In The Alienist, childhood abuse is a prevalent theme. This is seen throughout the story on multiple accounts. One account is Dr. Kreizler. In the story it is revealed that Dr. Kreizler was beaten as a child, to the extent of disfiguring his left arm. This theme is again seen when, while on the hunt for the killer, the detectives find that childhood abuse is a common past among criminals and killers. The team uses this knowledge to build the profile of the killer. This assumption leads them to find some of the biggest clues in the case. The direct link between Carr’s childhood and the abusive childhood theme is undeniable. 

Other aspects of Carr’s life may have also attributed to why he wrote The Alienist. His childhood was abusive, but also educational. His father was a journalist and would often invite prestigious writers over. It is believed that these men became role models, teaching Carr how to write. Later in his life Carr became a military historian (Foley). This occupation would have provided him with a background in history and provided him a place to start his research for the story. These aspects of Carr’s life combined to provide a foundation to create The Alienist. 

Personally, I think Carr wrote his book to convey deeper messages. As previously stated, childhood abuse was a recurring theme throughout the book. It is seen in many characters, including both the “good” and the “bad”. With that in mind, I think Carr was trying to convey, that it doesn’t matter what your original circumstances are, you get to choose what life you lead. This message is shown as the protagonists and the antagonist have similar childhoods. I partly agree with this view. Your life is what you make it, and you can overcome difficult challenges. However, some circumstances can provide opportunities for advancement that other situations do not. 

Another message covered in The Alienist, is recognizing the perspective and ideas of others. While on the hunt of the killer, the teams relies on each other’s strengths and abilities. The Isaacson detectives have different unproven methods for crime solving. Despite their unusual behavior and ideas the team take their experiments seriously and listen to their unproven theories. At first there theories seem outlandish, but many of them prove correct though the investigation. John’s perspective proves to be invaluable, as his knowledge of the shader parts of town are crucial to protect the team and catch the killer.

Sara Howard’s perspective is vastly different from the rest of the team. It is Sara who figures out that the killer had an abusive mother not father and she even saves the lives of Moore and Kreizler. Sara’s character is a fantastic addition to the story. She is my favorite character because she overcomes discrimination and proves that different perspectives are important. 

The biggest message conveyed throughout the story is the injustices that racism and discrimination create. This is clearly seen when the police continue to allow a killer to remain on the streets. During this time, immigrants where wildly discriminated against as many blamed them for taking jobs and other problems which arose from over crowded urban areas. In the story the killer targeted young immigrants. The police write it off, not caring that children where loosing their lives. Another time discrimination is displayed in the story is with Sara Howard. She is Roosevelt’s secretary, and acts as a liaison during the investigation. Sara is ambitious and has dreams of become a police officer. During, this time it was not common for women to work and they definitely were not police officers. Sara doesn’t let this stop her and she proves again and again that she belongs on the investigation. Through her character Carr is able to display his views on discrimination towards women. 

Even though The Alienist contains many positive messages it is not an easy book to stomach. When I began reading I was terrified I was going have nightmares about a killer on the loose. And while I did start locking my dead bolt at night, I quickly found myself immersed in the story. Before reading The Alienist, I had never thought about how technology and medical advancements would affect the criminal justice system. In the book Dr. Kreizler and the Isaacson detectives are often criticized for their views and methods. The Isaacson detectives are able to link the killer between crime scenes because of fingerprints. However, they can’t use it as solid evidence because at the time, there wasn’t enough research proving that everyone’s fingerprints are different and that a person’s prints reman the same over time. Crime investigations today heavily rely on fingerprinting to not only link crimes but to identify their suspect. In The Alienist there is no fingerprint data base, so even though they have the prints they have no idea who they belong to. 

Another aspect of the story I found interesting was the profiling done by Dr. Kreizler and his team. In many circles Dr. Kreizler is perceived as an outsider due to his progressive views on the development of criminals’ brains. Though these views are unpopular, it is through them that they identify the killer. Many clues left by the killer are small and meaningless individually. However, when the team adds them together they eventually figure out his identity.    

While I found some aspects of The Alienist intriguing, I did not enjoy everything about the book. The biggest issue I had, has more to do with the time era than the book. In the book, the police are willing to let a serial killer roam the streets simply because he targets immigrant families. This disturbed me, and displayed the issues of racism that was prevalent during this time. It also shows the amount of power the police had. The police had the power to cover up murders and keep the public uniformed. Reporting agencies wouldn’t run the stories, thus keeping the public in the dark. Long story short, what I didn’t like about the book branched not from the story but, from the time in history that it occurred.

The Alienist, is a well written historical fiction, which contains powerful messages. Author Caleb Carr, draws on his past experiences to further explore human behavior. Carr’s book displays some of the problems which were prevalent in America during the late 1800s, by bringing the reader’s attention to discrimination, and side effects from childhood abuse. At first glance The Alienist, appears to be a dark book, and filled with negative themes. However, it conveys a clear sense of hope. It does this through its characters—who are willing to do what is unpopular to bring a killer to justice. It opens the readers eyes and makes one question what more can they do to break social stigmas and make the world a better place.